The federal government issued new rules on October 1 protect individuals against having genetic information used unfairly to raise health insurance rates, deny health insurance, or limit coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

As part of the implementation of the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA), the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury published the new regulations in the Federal Register, providing for a comment period before they become final.

In addition, the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services proposed changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to clarify that genetic information is health information.  As such, insurance companies cannot use or disclose genetic information to compute premiums, deny coverage, or deny benefits because of pre-existing conditions.  Penalties for violating the HIPAA Privacy Rules range from $100 to $50,000 for each violation. Read the rest of this entry »

Two gene changes that occur in some colorectal cancers can forecast chances for good or poor survival.

Patients whose cancers had high microsatellite instability (MSI) had significantly better outcomes at every stage, but mutations in the KRAS gene predicted poorer survival. Read the rest of this entry »

Taking either high or low dose aspirin reduces the chances the people with colorectal polyps (adenomas) will get more.

A combined analysis of three randomized controlled trials that compared taking aspirin to a placebo after adenomas were removed found that people who took a daily low dose or baby aspirin had almost a 20 percent lower chance of another adenoma during their next colonoscopy.  High-dose or regular adult strength aspirin reduced risk of polyp recurrence by about 15 percent.

Any aspirin reduced the risk of advanced adenomas by more than 35 percent. Read the rest of this entry »

We have just published our study on colon cancer clinical outcomes in women versus men. The facts that premenopausal women are protected against developing colon cancer and that postmenopausal women who take hormonal replacement therapy have reduced risk for colon cancer suggest that female hormones are protective. This can be very confusing since estrogen replacement therapy is not recommended for breast cancer patients. Read the rest of this entry »

Briefly: In research this week, human embryonic stem cells produced an immune response in mice with colon cancer, and discussing strong pain medicines with cancer patients reduces their pain by about 20 percent.

The Food and Drug Administration has found many dietary supplements contaminated with prescription drugs not listed on the label, some at several times higher than the recommended dose.  In other FDA news, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals was unable to get FDA approval for use of Fusilev® for metastatic colorectal cancer. Read the rest of this entry »